Saturday is still several days away, but that hasn't stopped several diehard football fans from already claiming prime tailgate territory for the Tennessee-Alabama game.

Already, about 20 RV campers sat on a rooftop garage near downtown Tuesday night. Their occupants, wearing both Tennessee orange and Alabama crimson, were cooking dinner and socializing.

"A lot of people don't believe we park motor homes on the deck, but we do. It's a lot of fun up here," said life-long Alabama fan Skipper Falls. He makes Knoxville a regular destination during football season.

"This is a big tradition, UT-Alabama," he said.

Jim Brandt, a Tennessee fan from Nashville, says camping this far in advance is part entertainment and part strategy now that there are fewer locations to park RVs.

"There's one down by the river they're using for staging for rebuilding the bridge. The World's Fair [lot] closed down, so this is the only place to go now," he said. "There might be people parked on the street by Friday night."